White noise sounds are known to reduce suffering from tinnitus and to provide noise-masking. When listened to during the day, they mask noise, and may help to reduce suffering from tinnitus, and at night they may help to mask noise and to fall asleep.
However, not all white noise sounds provide relief and noise masking equally to all tinnitus sufferers and to others who may benefit from white noise sound therapy.
For example, white noise sounds with different bandwidth are known to benefit different types of tinnitus sufferers. Some people benefit from white noise sounds having bandwidths providing more emphasis on higher frequency components whereas others benefit more from white noise sounds having bandwidths providing emphasis on lower frequency components.
It may also be desirable to have white noise sounds with different tones. Some listeners may find some tones more beneficial than others.
Others may suffer from ringing in the ears at particular frequencies. White noise sounds with different embedded peak frequencies matched to the ringing in the ears are known to help to block the ringing and thereby to bring some modicum of relief to the tinnitus sufferer.
The sound machines heretofore typically included a dedicated micro controller for sound playback and a memory having prerecorded therein one or more of these different types of white noise sounds to provide different sleep therapy regimens to tinnitus sufferers and others who may benefit from white noise sound therapy.
However, the utility of the heretofore known sound machines was limited by their comparatively-high component costs. Not only were dedicated micro controllers for sound playback comparatively-expensive, but the greater the number and variety of sounds stored in memory, the greater was the cost for each increment of additional memory capacity, with the result that the heretofore known sound machines could cost more than some tinnitus sufferers and others who may have benefitted from white noise therapy could practicably afford.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a sound machine providing sound therapy for tinnitus sufferers and others seeking white noise sound therapy having the benefits of the heretofore known sound machines but none of their attendant disadvantages.